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The Higher Education Teaching and Learning Environment – challenges and opportunities in relation to the electronic information highway Brenda Leibowitz Symposium Academic Libraries: Proactive Partners in Learning and Research 2 November 2006

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The Higher Education T & L Environment Features within the teaching and learning context Advantages to the teaching and learning environment of the new landscape Initiatives facilitated by the new electronic landscape at Stellenbosch University Three examples of teaching and learning innovations using e-learning Synthesis of examples Implications for partnerships Conclusion

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Features within the t & l context Pressures faced by academics with regard to their roles as researchers, teachers and contributors towards the development of society Challenges impacting on education, posed by an unequal and divided society Expectations from employers and industry “Wobbly” information skills of students

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Module on Health and Well-being University of the Western Cape -South Africa University of Makerere-Uganda University of the West-Indies Mona- Jamaica University of Bar-Ilan-Israel University of Maryland-United States

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Module on Health and Well-being The nature of the assignments was very intelligent as for they enabled me figure out the terms individually, then compare this understanding with other women overseas and in the end with a woman from my surroundings. Within the same time, I had the chance to discuss the topic cross-culturally and learn plenty about it and about the different conditions that contribute to it. Assignments that demanded us to read others` work exposed me to different locations and cultures an opportunity that we usually do not have. The interviews from different parts of the world show that even though we live in one global village we still see differences in the attitude of women to health due mostly to different socio economic geographic ethnic parameters.

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Module on Health and Well-being Many students (especially those facing oppression) do not have the opportunity to travel and experience the world. Traveling gives people a better view of local issues in comparison to universal issues. Therefore those who don’t have the opportunity to travel internationally usually do not have the opportunity to have an understanding of these two varying issues and the broader view that is developed through this experience. It has been my experience that international exchange via web learning is just as valuable as, and probably more accessible than, the more traditional international exchange student learning projects. It is my hope that we will extend this opportunity to more students.

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Global Engineering Teams I gained a great deal of insight from working in a team over a large distance, with all of us working towards a common goal, under a tight schedule. I learnt how to place better trust in the other members to complete their goals. It was an incredible experience to be able to work with engineers from other parts of the world and to see what the similarities and differences between us are. It was good to see that the South African engineers do not need to stand back for engineers from other countries. It was also clear that communication would always be a problem unless attention was paid to that from the beginning. I learnt that communication is a problem when you work with people from other countries. I learnt how to manage the communication gap and how to keep it under control. Also learnt how to manage and accommodate differences of opinion.

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Community, Self and Identity Worst experience ever It gave us a few problems, is kicking out of the system, but it’s an awesome education system It is very good and I enjoyed it. It is a simple way of connecting with your lecturers and group members

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UWC social work student had done the practice of PowerPoint for a single hour, which was not fair for them, as they had struggled to do it. If the presentation was not prepared according to the mixed institutions that is UWC and the US it could had been an embarrassment for UWC students because were not familiar with it. The US students had played a big role to help the UWC students to get used in techniques of using the PowerPoint However I do want to mention that I also observed that the students of UWC somehow undermined their strengths with regards to their presentation skills, as I noticed that 98% of the groups were presented by the Stellenbosch students

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Synthesis of three cases E-learning can contribute to learning in interdisciplinary settings It can contribute to citizenship education Benefit of a mix of electronic and face to face Allows for use of on-line communication for research purposes Does not necessarily reduce costs, but allows for replacement of costly learning opportunities Reliant on infrastructure, eg. electricity supply Reliant on societal and contextual features Provides useful structure for communication and assignments

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Implications for partnerships Various role players in a partnership Extra funding often necessary in piloting phase Use of newest and best systems helpful Existence of quality technical back up essential Adequate time for planning is required Partners need to investigate what new literacies are required, and which literacies are being generated Quality of electronic communications technology necessary but not sufficient

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Conclusion It is up to us, the partners, to ensure the electronic highway leads to educational heaven on earth, rather than to a higher education cul de sac